Album Summary

Got To Be There is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's Greatest Hits (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released on October 7, 1971, as Jackson's debut solo single.

On August 2, 2013, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. The album was later remastered and reissued in 2009 as part of the 3-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.

The title track and Rockin' Robin were released as singles and were commercially successful. Those two hits were back-to-back on the Hot 100 at No. 4 and 2, respectively, on April 8, 1972. Jackson's I Wanna Be Where You Are reached No. 27 on the U.S. chart on June 24, 1972. The album included remakes of Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, Carole King's You've Got A Friend and The Supremes' Love Is Here And Now You're Gone. In the U.K, Jackson's version of Ain't No Sunshine was the album's third single; it reached number 8 on that country's charts. The album's songs have a tempo ranging from 74 beats per minute on Ain't No Sunshine, to 170 on Rockin' Robin.

The album was arranged by The Corporation, Eddy Manson, James Anthony Carmichael, Gene Page, and Dave Blumberg. Berry Gordy was the executive producer and Jim Britt was credited for photography.